Awarded during the 2024–25 financial year, this grant supports Movement for Parkinson’s, a year-long programme of weekly dance sessions held at Pewsham Community Centre in Chippenham.
Delivered by Inclusive Intergenerational Dance (iID), the project provides 1.5-hour dance classes tailored specifically for people with Parkinson’s and other neurological conditions, alongside their carers. Sessions run weekly from January to December 2025 and include additional rehearsals and costumes for a final showcase performance.
The sessions are designed to reduce symptoms of Parkinson’s through gentle, creative movement, helping participants build strength, coordination, and flexibility. Each class also fosters peer support and community connection, with time set aside for socialising after the physical activity.
As well as promoting physical health, the programme boosts mental wellbeing and self-esteem, reduces isolation, and supports broader community cohesion. Participants often walk to the sessions due to the community-based location, and many have gone on to access further health and wellbeing groups as a result.
This project builds on a proven model supported by more than 40 peer-reviewed studies, including the Dance for PD approach. It is supported locally by Parkinson’s UK, GP surgeries, and the Living Well Team, and reflects a co-designed initiative developed by and for people with Parkinson’s.
Somewhere we can feel alive and smile and laugh and forget the difficulties of caring for someone with Parkinsons. Lovely to have tea and chat afterwards too.
